Termination of civil service without disciplinary inquiry and opportunity to be heard violates principles of natural justice.

ORDER

Per:- Sanjeev Gupta, Judicial Member

The applicant being aggrieved of the orders dated 21.05.2012 and 13.06.2012 passed by the respondents, whereby the services of the applicant as ‘General Line Teacher’ has been terminated on the ground of forging of marks card of Class 12th, approached the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu by filing SWP No. 1993 of 2012 praying for the following reliefs:-

“i. allow this writ petition of the petitioner.

ii. issue writ of certiorari quashing the order impugned dated 21.05.2012 passed by respondent No. 3 whereby which the petitioner has been terminated from the services of General Line Teacher posted at Government Primary School, Baddhar Patnazi.

iii. Issue writ of certiorari quashing the order impugned dated 13.06.2012 passed by respondent No. 5 whereby the Zonal Education Officer was directed to take all charges from the petitioner and further asked to terminate the services of the petitioner.

iv. Issue writ of mandamus commanding the respondent authorities to reinstate the petitioner as General Line Teacher at its own position and status in seniority alongwith all pay and benefit for period intermediary i.e. from the day the petitioner got terminated till the date of reinstatement.

v. Issue writ of mandamus commanding the respondent No. 3 to take on record the verification No. F (Veri-B) JD/2012 dated 06.02.2012 instead of F (Veri-B) JD/2007 dated 07.09.2007 issued by J&K State Board of School Education.”

2. The brief facts of the case, as stated in the Transferred Application (T.A.) are that the applicant having passed the Higher Secondary Examination (Class 12th), applied for the post of ReT Teacher in Zone Drabshalla, District Kisthwar under the ReT Scheme in the year 2000. The applicant was selected and appointed as ReT Teacher in Middle School, Patnazi by the Zonal Education Officer, Drabshalla vide order dated 29.07.2000 and after completing five years of requisite service, the applicant came to be regularized as General Line Teacher vide order dated 20.05.2005.

3. It is averred in the T.A. that the order regularizing the services of the applicant contained a rider/stipulation that the salary of the regularized employee shall be released only on the production and verification of relevant documents viz academic qualification certificates, marks card, date of birth certificate and other eligibility documents in original. However, vide impugned order dated 13.06.2012 in furtherance of impugned order dated 21.05.2012, the services of the applicant came to be terminated by respondent No. 3 without affording an opportunity of being heard, on the ground that marks card of Class 12th submitted by the applicant bearing Roll No. 212 shows 212 marks which is not in accordance with the Board record. It is further averred in the T.A. that the respondent authorities sent the name of the applicant for verification to Board of School Education, Jammu as Abdul Kabir Keen, S/o Mohd Abdullah Keen under roll No. 212 Bi-Annual 1987, whereas, the fact is that the applicant had passed his Higher Secondary Part II Examination under Roll No. 212 Annual Session 1987 and this was the reason that the Board of School Education, Jammu communicated wrong verification. However, after realizing its mistake, the State Board of School Education vide letter No. F (Veri-B) JD/2012 dated 06.02.2012 informed the Zonal Education Officer, Drabshalla, Kishtwar that the earlier verification report of the applicant had been erroneously sent. It is also averred in the T.A. that the letter dated 06.02.2012 was not considered by the Director School Education and the applicant was illega